Dr. Kenny Su selected to potentially fill chief medical examiner role
By John O'Connor
Dr. Kenny Su has been selected by the Commission on Post-Mortem Examinations to potentially become Guam's next chief medical examiner. Commission members voted unanimously to select Su during a meeting today. He was recommended by Attorney General Leevin Camacho and Dr. John Taitano from the Guam Medical Society, who acted as the search committee for the commission.
"The search committee’s recommendation was based on the experience, education, and interviews of all the eligible candidates," according to a release from the Office of the Attorney General.
The next step is to notify Su of his selection. The search committee will meet with him to discuss his views on salary and benefits. The commission will then hold a follow-up meeting in the upcoming weeks to publicly discuss his compensation, the release stated.
Su trained in Taiwan in neurology before studying pathology, and is United States Board Certified in three different forensic categories, according to the release.
The attorney general reported during a commission late last month that three individuals submitted applications to become the next chief medical examiner for Guam. The commission then voted to create a search committee comprising the attorney general and Taitano.
It was stated during the meeting that none of the candidates has a license to practice medicine in Guam, but Camacho said any offer would be contingent on getting that done.
According to OAG spokeswoman Carlina Charfauros, now that Su has been selected, the licensing process will come later, after the phase involving his salary and benefits.
Guam has had no chief medical examiner since Dr. Aurelio Espinola retired in January 2019. The post-mortem commission had been actively engaged in recruiting but there is a shortage of forensic medical examiners nationwide, according to a prior release from the OAG.
In the interim, the commission has been securing contracts with the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority and several off-island pathologists to perform both forensic and non-forensic examinations.
Commission members also discussed staffing issues at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner during the meeting last month. Administrative assistant Johanna Bamba said the office has only two employees – herself and the morgue attendant.
She was looking at either an administrative clerk or a mortician to become the new full-time employee, but the fiscal year 2022 budget law provides the same funding as last year, and does not support thing hiring of additional staff.
Some of the discussion on that topic included cost sharing and fees. The attorney general also told Bamba that if a new chief medical examiner is hired and their salary is determined, the commission can work backwards from there to see how much room is available in the budget for additional staff.
